Symptoms
The disease manifests itself differently depending on the pathogen, age and condition of the animal can also be subclinical. Possible symptoms include high fever, lassitude, poor appetite, weight loss, hemolytic anemia (anemia), pale mucous membranes, hemoglobinuria, brown urine, and jaundice. In addition, oedema, bleeding, splenomegaly, thrombocytopenia, ocular disease, and complications of various organs may occur. A distinction is made between an uncomplicated and a complicated course. Cases are regularly observed in Central Europe. In the past, babesiosis was a typical travel disease.
Causes
The cause of the disease is infection with protozoa of the genus , which infect the red blood cells of the host. In Europe, infections with (, , ) and the smaller are observed. The disease is transmitted in a tick bite by the alluvial tick and the brown dog tick, among others. In the process, the sporozoites enter the blood of the dogs with the saliva. Some babesia such as can also be transmitted between dogs directly, for example, during scratching and biting, and transmission during a blood transfusion is also possible. The parasites multiply in the blood cells and subsequently dissolve them. The immune response is also involved in hemolysis. This results in the release of hemoglobin, which appears in the urine when the infestation is severe enough, causing it to turn a red to brown color.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis is made under veterinary care. The parasites are micrometer in size and can be detected in blood cells with a microscope. Other laboratory methods are available (e.g., PCR).
Treatment
In many countries, the antiprotozoal drug imidocarb (Carbesia) is approved for treatment. It acts directly on the parasites and kills them. The injectable solution is injected intramuscularly or subcutaneously and can also be used as a preventive. Possible adverse effects include cholinergic effects such as salivation, muscle tremors, and rapid pulse. The literature also mentions phenamidine, pentamidine, diminazene, trypan blue, quinuronium sulfate, atovaquone, and parvaquone. However, all of these agents are not currently available as veterinary drugs in many countries. In human medicine, among others, clindamycin, metronidazole, doxycycline and quinine are used. In addition to antiparasitic therapy, symptomatic treatment, e.g., with infusions, is also important. For prevention, vaccines (Nobivac) and various agents and measures against tick bites are available (e.g., amitraz, fipronil, deltamethrin).
